Pairs of plants are provided in which complementing constructs result in suppression of a parental phenotype in the progeny. Methods to generate and maintain such plants, and methods of use of plants generated or maintained by the methods, are provided, including use of parental plants to produce sterile plants for hybrid seed production. Also provided are regulatory elements for pollen-preferred expression of linked polynucleotides. Also provided are methods for identifying gene function, and methods for repressing transmission of transgenes.